Occidental Petroleum Board Elects Independent Chairman, Vice Chairman

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Occidental Petroleum (NYS: OXY) announced today that former Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian will assume the role of Independent Chairman of the Board of Directors, and former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham the role of Independent Vice Chairman. Both were elected by the Board.

Mr. Djerejian has served as an independent director of Oxy since 1996, and most recently has chaired the Corporate Governance, Nominating, and Social Responsibility Committee. He served in the Foreign Service for 32 years, and was twice appointed U.S. Ambassador, first to Syria, and later to Israel. He is the founding director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston.

Mr. Abraham has served as an independent director of Oxy since 2005, and most recently has chaired the Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee. He served as a United States Senator from Michigan, and later as the U.S. Secretary of Energy. He is currently Chairman and CEO of The Abraham Group LLC, an international strategic consulting firm.

Both have played important leadership roles on the Board for many years, possess a keen understanding of Occidental's businesses and strategy, and bring a sophisticated global perspective to the Oxy Board.

"I am honored to lead the Occidental Board and look forward to working closely with Spence and the other independent directors as we continue to move the company forward and position Oxy for future success. The Board is firmly committed to delivering on its commitments to investors," Mr. Djerejian said.

Stephen I. Chazen, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Ed's depth of experience, judgment, and understanding of our business strategy make him the perfect choice to lead our Board. I look forward to working closely with him and Spence and the full Board as we continue pursuing long-term value creation for our shareholders."

It was also announced that Mr. Aziz Syriani withdrew his nomination prior to the election. The following directors have received majority support: Mr. Spencer Abraham; Mr. Howard I. Atkins; Mr. Stephen I. Chazen; Mr. Edward P. Djerejian; Mr. John E. Feick; Ms. Margaret M. (Peggy) Foran; Mr. Carlos M. Gutierrez; and Mr. Avedick B. Poladian. In addition, the proposals on executive compensation and ratification of auditors both passed. The stockholder proposal to permit stockholder action by written consent did not pass.

Dr. Ray R. Irani will step down from the Board. Mr. Chazen, on behalf of the Board, thanked Dr. Irani for his 30 years of service to the Board and company, and said he and the Board look forward to calling on him for advice, counsel, and help in advancing the company's business interests.

"We thank Dr. Irani and Mr. Syriani for their exceptional contributions to Oxy during a period of tremendous growth and shareholder return," Mr. Djerejian said.

About Oxy

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Middle East/North Africa and Latin America regions. Oxy is one of the largest U.S. oil and gas companies, based on equity market capitalization. Oxy's wholly owned subsidiary OxyChem manufactures and markets chlor-alkali products and vinyls. Oxy is committed to safeguarding the environment, protecting the safety and health of employees and neighboring communities and upholding high standards of social responsibility in all of the company's worldwide operations.